They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4: 5 - 6 NKJV
Growing up in the Christian church, I learned pretty well about things that were permissible and those which were not. Ask someone a polite question and you were good. Approach someone sarcastically and you were definitely not Christian material. I assume that the fathers of the faith simply used these rules to keep the flock in line. Let's face it, we can't have a bunch of foul mouthed people out there claiming to love God and representing Christianity right? We need people who are honest, well behaved and well mannered. That's the Christian code of conduct. Well, somewhere along the way someone broke that mold. Being a young believer, I recognized in others claiming to be Christians some of the behaviors I had been told were out of bounds. Arguments, wrath and all sorts of behaviors I was certain God would deal with them harshly for. As for myself, I did my best to adhere to the code of conduct, even when it was difficult to do so. I must admit that I looked upon myself as pretty pious in those days. How other believers around me were giving in to the urges of the world while I adhered, so I thought, to the Christian code. Oh how proud I was. Then one day while at a friends house I was introduced to something that would shake my world and definitely make me question if I was cut out to be one of Gods elect. It was a magazine. Not just any magazine, but a fresh copy of the coveted Sports Illustrated swimsuit special issue. As we perused those pages with excitement, I had no idea what was in store for me. For that swimsuit issue led to more magazines and videos which were definitely not a part of the Christian code. The funny thing was, despite feeling guilty as hell, I continued to see myself as a believer. I loved God despite my dabbling in the mud and mire of the world. Yet I was troubled by one question, how did God see me? I mean, I had broken the code. Now I was like one of those blasphemers I used to see in church on Sunday claiming to be Christians. Now I was that blasphemer.
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV
Even back then, I saw my sin as a divider between myself and God. Sin was the roadblock issue that only the strongest Christian could overcome. Yet, each day I witnessed the Christian victims of sin pile up like some supernatural killing field. Those who I assumed had been strong in the faith fell by the wayside. Now, when I walked into church, it seemed like the Christian code was something of the past. Soon, it was difficult to tell a believer from someone who wasn't. To me it all seemed like a dog and pony show, performing my best to please God. That is, until I came across a passage from the apostle Paul that reminded me of the true nature of my salvation. For it was indeed by Gods grace that I had been chosen, not by anything I had done myself {Ephesians 2:8-9}. The dog and pony show wasn't much of one at all. I looked at the man Saul and I saw a zealot who took it upon himself to persecute the early church. What did God see in him? What did He see in me? What did God see in this rough talking idolizer of women? Well, He saw Himself. For I have been created in His own image {Genesis 1:27}. It was the Lord who breathed life into me {Genesis 2:7}. He has been a intimate part of me from the very beginning, despite myself. This is no more evident in the revelation which Paul introduces us to in Galatians. That of Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}. It turns out that I didn't break the code after all. In fact, with Christ in me there was no Christian code to break. Now, we may talk rough or act in a way that would make the world proud, but does that really define who it is we are? Not at all. For we are defined by He who lives in us. We are Jesus.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2: 20 NKJV
~Scott~
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